You're a Painter
by HawthorneHope
Summary: When describing Peeta Mellark, there are only so many words. And Katniss knew every one of them. One shot.


**You're a painter**

Peeta Mellark was a man of many things. A Paradox; he was a complex individual that had many different sides, not all shown in the daylight. Strong as an ox, built like the men before him in his family line, he was able to lift 100 lb bags of flour over his head. Yet he had a gentleness to him unparalleled to anyone else in the district, except his father. He was able to lie and manipulate the world around him, a smooth talker with a tongue made of silk. Yet he had a brutal honesty to him, showing nothing but the hard truth at all times. Even a man of many words could not describe Peeta Mellark in a simple sentence.

When Katniss described Peeta Mellark, no one understood that the little things in his life were actually some of the most important events that shaped who he was as a man.

_You're a Painter_

Growing up in the harsh environment of district twelve, there was no room for fine arts. Life is about getting work done, not capturing events of non-importance. Before he became a victor, Peeta tended to hide away his talents for the arts. After the games, painting was a way to escape the reality of his nightmares. Very few people knew and understood what Peeta Mellark was thinking when a pen has in his hand and a picture in his minds-eye. Art was an escape. Since only he could decide what would bloom from the paint brush or the tip of a pen, painting was a infinite freedom in the barriers and fences of District Twelve. A small infinity, but that was all he needed to escape the cruel world he found himself in.

_You're a Baker_

His family's trade. Peeta had been breed and groomed to support his family business. His hands have worked into bread for many years, making this trade worked into him. Peeta was like the bread itself. Warm and healthy. A strong crust with a tender center. Always smelling of grains, the scars forming his body gave almost a crust to himself. When Peeta told new faces that he was a "baker', many did not understand that the word held so much more weight than just his career. When people were describing a "baker", they were describing his whole world.

_You like to Sleep with the windows open_

Contrary to popular belief, Peeta Mellark was not a indoor person. He wasn't a woods man, that's for sure, but Peeta was a person of warm, fresh air and morning sunlight. His mother would always have the windows closed in the bakery, for fear of a draft and ruining the bread their lives were run on. Up in Peeta's room at night, the small window in the corner would always be open. Peeta would breathe in the cool evening air, calming himself down with the promise for a better tomorrow. Room to breathe, air meant life. Air meant hope. Peeta liked to sleep with the windows open because that made life a little easier with hope blanketed in the secrets of nightfall.

_You never take sugar in your tea_

Waste not, not want. Peeta's mother made sure that these words were etched into his skull permanently. Sugar is used for baking. For cookies and sweets that put the smiles and hope to the children pressing their noses to the glass windows of the bakery. This little habit of his was more than the constant threat of his mother though. After watching the love of his life nearly starve to death on several occasions, and death a constant walk away, Peeta made the resolve to never waste a commodity like sugar to a simple thing like a cup of tea. Food was a gift, and he had no intention on wasting it on a insignificant thing such as a sweeter cup of tea.

_You always Double knot your shoelaces_

Security. Safety. Things that were never guaranteed in district twelve. Death was always a mere mistake away. Nothing should be over looked. Peeta needed to make sure that all the areas in his life were groomed over so that all dangers and risks were as minimun as possible. Minimized for him. Minimized for Katniss and his family. Peeta Mellark double knoting his shoelaces were just another way of making sure that the devil wouldn't trip him on his way out the door. Peeta may be from the richer side of the district, but he cannot afford to play dirty with the world.


End file.
